ESTIMATED CHANGE IN VOLUME, 1896-2021 (Beason et al., 2023):
PLEASE see important notes about this, below...
Glacier-specific Scaling Parameter, c:
0.030303
Units |
1896 |
1913 |
1971 |
1994 |
2009 |
2015 |
2021 |
Volume, mi3 |
0.0634 |
0.0218 |
0.0179 |
0.0123 |
0.0188 |
0.0129 |
0.0123 |
Volume, km3 |
0.2644 |
0.0910 |
0.0746 |
0.0513 |
0.0783 |
0.0536 |
0.0513 |
Volume Change Between Periods
|
1913 |
1971 |
1994 |
2009 |
2015 |
2021 |
1896 | -0.042 mi3 (-0.173 km3) | -0.046 mi3 (-0.190 km3) | -0.051 mi3 (-0.213 km3) | -0.045 mi3 (-0.186 km3) | -0.051 mi3 (-0.211 km3) | -0.051 mi3 (-0.213 km3) |
---|
1913 | -- | -0.004 mi3 (-0.016 km3) | -0.010 mi3 (-0.040 km3) | -0.003 mi3 (-0.013 km3) | -0.009 mi3 (-0.037 km3) | -0.010 mi3 (-0.040 km3) |
---|
1971 | | -- | -0.006 mi3 (-0.023 km3) | 0.001 mi3 (0.004 km3) | -0.005 mi3 (-0.021 km3) | -0.006 mi3 (-0.023 km3) |
---|
1994 | | | -- | 0.006 mi3 (0.027 km3) | 0.001 mi3 (0.002 km3) | 0.000 mi3 (0.000 km3) |
---|
2009 | | | | -- | -0.006 mi3 (-0.025 km3) | -0.006 mi3 (-0.027 km3) |
---|
2015 | | | | | -- | -0.001 mi3 (-0.002 km3) |
Percent Change Between Periods
|
1913 |
1971 |
1994 |
2009 |
2015 |
2021 |
1896 | -65.58% | -71.81% | -80.62% | -70.40% | -79.74% | -80.59% |
---|
1913 | -- | -18.08% | -43.67% | -14.00% | -41.13% | -43.61% |
---|
1971 | | -- | -31.25% | 4.98% | -28.14% | -31.17% |
---|
1994 | | | -- | 52.69% | 4.52% | 0.11% |
---|
2009 | | | | -- | -31.55% | -34.44% |
---|
2015 | | | | | -- | -4.22% |
Important comments about the calculation of volume shown here
The calculation of glacial volume shown on this page is based on an analysis of two methods used at Mount Rainier in the past (Driedger and Kennard [1986]; and Nylen [2001]) as well as the most recent literature review for glacier area-volume scaling (Please review Beason et al. [2023] for an in-depth discussion about this issue). It should be noted that simply converting area to volume with an equation is extremely difficult and the values presented here have extremely large error margins (likely ± 35% or more). With that in mind, the values presented here should give you an estimate of the glacial volume and change in volume over time. Please use these data very carefully with those caveats.
The calcuation of the volume is as follows:
\[V_i = {(c_iA_i^{1.375}) + (c_nA_i^{1.36}) \over 2}\]
Where:
\(V_i\) = Average volume for the glacier in question (km3);
\(c_i\) = The glacier-specific scaling parameter (back-calculated from glacier area and volume in 1971 in Driedger and Kennard (1986); Method described in Beason et al. (2023). The value for the Kautz Glacier is 0.030303 (this is also listed above the volume graph);
\(c_n\) = The back-calculated scaling parameter from Nylen (2001) of 0.0255; and
\(A_i\) = The measured volume of the glacier in question (km2).
This is essentially an average of the back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) and Nylen (2001) methods (D&K is in the first parenthesis; Nylen in the second). For example, for the Kautz Glacier in 2021, you can find the following individual volumes:
Back-calculated Dreidger and Kennard (1986) Method: 0.0134 mi3 (0.0559 km3).
Back-calculated Nylen (2001) Method: 0.0112 mi3 (0.0467 km3).
Average of the two (above equation and values listed for 2021 here): 0.0123 mi3 (0.0513 km3).
Official volume estimate listed above, with error: 0.0123 ± 0.0043 mi3 (0.0513 ± 0.0180 km3).
As you can see, the D&K method tends to produce higher values and Nylen produces lower values; the average of these two methods probably estimates the glacial volume. Until further research is done in this area and we can develop a better method or equation to determine volumes, this is the method we are using to determine glacial volumes. For more information about this method, please read the methods section of Beason et al. (2023).
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